DESCRIPTION: The mission of the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (MCOHS) Education and Research Center (ERC) is to provide excellence in interdisciplinary academic and research training to prepare exceptional leaders the field of occupational health and safety. The proposed training program in occupational and environmental epidemiology will include training at the master's and doctoral levels. The program will draw on the strengths of two divisions in the School of Public Health: Environmental Health Sciences (EnHS) and Epidemiology and Community Health (EpiCH). Doctoral students will be admitted from either division and MPH students will be admitted from EnHS. This program will offer rigorous training in epidemiologic methods applied to occupational and environmental problems and will incorporate state-of-the-art methods in a multidisciplinary training environment. The MCOHS has established programs of excellence in industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine;occupational and environmental health nursing;occupational health services research and policy, occupational injury prevention research, and hazardous substances. Regional needs and the results of a strategic planning effort in MCOHS identified the need for establishment of an officially integrated program in occupational and environmental epidemiology as an important goal for the MCOHS. The MCOHS was established over 30 years ago and serves the region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The innovative administrative structure of the MCOHS builds on strategic planning and engagement of key stakeholders, which enhances interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach, including research to practice, and strengthens diversity recruitment. This well established and productive center provides an ideal environment to incorporate a multidisciplinary training program in occupational and environmental epidemiology to prepare future leaders in public health who will make important contributions to the health of the nation's workforce. RELEVANCE: The MCOHS ERC serves the region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota and is a resource for industry, labor, federal, state, and local government agencies, agriculture, and other interested parties. Recognized regionally, nationally and internationally, it provides outstanding academic and research training programs. The occupational and environmental epidemiology training program will enhance the quality of the multidisciplinary training experiences and the resulting regional, national and global impact of the center. The proposed program is integral to this Center and will further enhance its excellence.